Simply Radiant

So when you happen to be a stationery designer, there's a little pressure to come up with a good Christmas card because it feels a little like you're sending a business card to all of your friends (or maybe that's just in my head), but you've spent all year designing stationery so at times it can be hard to come up with something new.  Luckily, this year I had an new idea in my head that was original and easy to execute.

Step 1: Take a cute family picture.  Easier said than done.  We decided to forgo the professional shoot knowing Ollie would never cooperate. Instead, we woke up to snow one morning and quickly bundled up and snapped a few shots in the first snow of the year. Simple and cute.  I opted to add some simple text in Photoshop, but it would have been just as cute without it.

Step 2: Shove the picture in a paper CD sleeve and add some fake snow to make snowglobe to mail to all of your friends and family (or don't get around to mailing some of the most important ones like your dear friends the Hudsons, who will get theirs in February)

 Honestly, the execution as a little bit sloppy (dang you busy Costco photo people who printed this so dark when I didn't have time to reprint it), but I still loved how it turned out.  I used to extra space on the photo to print the snowglobe base and the wrap-around label, which also printed such a weird color, but oh well.

 I tried the fake snow you can buy at craft stores and cutting up my own snow from cardstock, and we liked them both equally so we went with the easier method and added about a teaspoon of fake snow to each envelope.

They were so fun to shake, and easy to slip into normal envelopes and mail out.  The back of the wrap-around label said, "Good tidings we bring to you and your kin."

I know I go a little overboard with Christmas cards so I almost skipped them this year, but these were so easy to put together. I think it's always worth the effort to let your family and friends know that you are thinking of them.